even though it is slow

 There is mail in the mailbox at the door, a small package has been placed there by the postman. It is adressed to the wife, bring it upstairs.

She opens it, there is a plastic bag inside containing the two carbon commutators for the washing machine's motor. These have been expected since Monday. 

Get to work. Installing these items would be five minutes work for an experienced maintenance person, now it takes a bit longer. Compare the old and the new for compatability, then drop a screw into the body of the machine. This is unthinkably clumsy, but manage to retrieve it with a tweezers. Then realise that both commutators are slanted the same way, even though one should be for the right hand of the motor  and the other for the left. This means that one has to be put in upside down or else it will be facing the wrong way. Then the one screw will not allow itself to be tightened. Loose the other screw and then it works. Check that everything has been tightened correctly, then replace the bottom cover on the machine. Tighten the screws down and turn the whole machine over. Heave it into place on its rubber mat and attach the waste pipe and the water pipe. When all is done, let the machine run.

It works.

The first thing is to get the washing of the last two weeks done.

The camera that arrived yesterday is a joy to use, it is a humble camera from the late sixties, one of those much-beloved small german rangefinders cameras. Buy a film for it and start to take pictures, using a light meter, setting all the settings by hand.

It makes sense, even though it is slow